Chapter 27: Aftermath

Laughter echoed around the royal castle as a few children played in the garden. The maids passed by and ignored everything.

Inside the garden were two princes laughing, with one on the ground.

The first one was a little kid with red spiky hair and green eyes. He laughed as he hit the prince on the ground.

Ba!

Cider punched the boy on the ground in the stomach, and he fell, weak.

"Haha, you used to be so arrogant when we were learning royal combat arts. Now where's all the confidence gone!" Cider kicked River to the other side of the room.

The boy on the ground looked up, tears streaming down his face as he glanced at his brothers. He stood up but fell back down due to the pain.

"Hehe, now you only have the mouth to talk to me if Mum's here. It's already past the age of awakening; both you and that young princess's little brother will be stuck while we go to the academy," Cider said with a grin as he walked away.

"Did you really have to beat him so bad?" Rowan asked as he looked back at River, who struggled to get up from the ground.

The garden was quiet as the crystal lights shone on the prince.

Tears came out of his eyes as he struggled to stand up. He slowly made his way to his room and finally entered it.

River entered a room and then saw a boy with black hair curled up on the bed.

The boy raised his head to see River, who looked around and realized he wasn't in his room. Julius kept his eyes on him.

His puffed-up eyes indicated that he had been crying for a long time.

"They insult and beat you too, huh? Even if you're their... twin... triple..."

River kept quiet as he looked at Julius, then entered the room and found a corner to sit down.

They stayed like that, in silence. Hours passed, and River finally stood up and left the room.

"You're leaving, huh?" Julius asked as he stood up from the bed.

"You know, there's something I figured out. In this world we are in, if you aren't powerful, you'll be treated like nothing, especially for us clan members. You've seen privileges given to your brothers and my elder sister... they are able to actually grow and reach for greater heights... but I..." Julius' voice cut off as he reached that point, and River, who stood at the door, glanced at him.

"There's still a chance. We have a few months to awaken; if not, I'll be considered a failure. It'll happen. It will..."

Julius looked over to see the determination in River's eyes.

"You too shouldn't give up," River said lastly before he left the room.

---

In a cave close to a flowing river, a young man with long red hair opened his eyelids to reveal two blue eyes that were as cold as ice.

He let out a breath as he stretched.

"That's all in the past now. I really hoped he could rise to my level too," River thought, standing up from the cave and moving out finally.

The clan beast seal trial was officially over.

A loud bang sounded all over the field, and the students looked up to see a barrier being opened from above.

River also walked out of his cave and headed towards the main area, thunder raging all around.

The atmosphere was grim, and the students were confused when they saw many of them outside of the field.

"What's going on?"

"Didn't he die to that beast?"

"What the hell... you're alive?"

The students were clearly in shock, seeing their fallen comrades alive and well.

Seeing all of the students alive at this time, River seemed surprised by the people suddenly appearing, students he saw who died.

"Relax..." A voice echoed around the area, and a man in a black cloak descended.

He lowered his hood, revealing a scar across his face and lightning flickering within his beautiful golden pupils.

"Know the weight of each decision you make in battle. Death is irreversible; know this..." The man's voice reached the students, and they all seemed shocked to see him here.

"Elder Ragner..." A girl with ponytail blonde hair whispered the man's name, and they all kept quiet and listened to him.

"A special spell was cast on all the students before the battle to bring you here upon death. A lot of you failed this round because of taking risky decisions without assessing the consequences," Elder Ragner said, and two other elders came to his side, still with their hoods on.

"Only a total of seven of you will be qualified to go to the academy, and the top 20 will receive epic-grade weapons, with the best getting the legendary-grade weapon," Elder Ragner said to the students. He looked back to see a tree being knocked down as an object flew closer to the students at high speed.

"Hm?" The elder seemed confused, and then the object approached River.

River noticed the danger and, with a wave of his hand, a wall of ice rose up from the ground. The ice wall shattered as the object collided with it.

River was forced backward by the impact and was sent flying.

He opened his eyes, which glowed bright blue. His frown slowly turned into a look of fear as he saw Princess Sasha standing above him, visible killing intent radiating off of her.

"Julius isn't here..." Sasha said, and River looked around in surprise as he didn't see Julius revived or anything like that.

"River, watch your back from now on," Sasha said with an angry tone, pointing a finger at him.

The gentle wind blew her hair, and River gritted his teeth, standing up to her.

The king sat up as he saw River's actions, and Queen Mira smiled as she watched her son.

River took a breath as he stared down at his half-sister.

"This world works by rules. The stronger one will always dominate. I'll prepare hard for the time we meet in combat," he said, then fell to his knees as he felt a pressure on his shoulders and bit his lip.

The moist floor beneath him began to freeze as the temperature around him dropped.

"I could kill you where you stand, but I'll also face consequences. I'll see you in the academy—don't be this weak when we meet again," Sasha said and walked away, gritting her teeth in anger.

The elder turned in a particular direction and saw a boy with long white hair looking in their direction, eating an apple with one hand.

He blinked, confused, then smirked.

As River struggled back to his feet, his gaze hardened, matching Sasha's glare with equal intensity. He clenched his fists, the bitter chill of his icy magic still swirling in the air.

"You beat me last time... No, you humiliated me, Sasha," he murmured under his breath, his voice barely more than a whisper. But Sasha had already turned her back, satisfied with her supposed victory, dismissing him with a flick of her hand.

Just as River was about to walk away, he felt something. A prickle at the back of his neck, a sense of being watched.

He glanced up at the tree line at the edge of the field, his eyes narrowing at a lone figure standing in the shadows, watching them. The figure's white hair glinted in the dim light, and his cold, calculating gaze met River's. A single hand held an apple, his expression unreadable.

River's eyes widened in shock. There was no mistaking it.

"Julius…" he breathed.

Before River could say anything more, the figure disappeared back into the shadows as silently as he'd come.

Did I really see him? Or was it… But as River's heart raced, he knew what he'd seen. Julius was alive.

And he was watching, no, he's coming back.